𝑯𝑶𝑼𝑺𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑶𝑹𝑹𝑶𝑾⇢ Gojo Satoru

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈 - 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 (𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐈𝐈)

TWENTY YEARS AGO, December 24th, 1997 –

"YOU CAN STILL CHANGE YOUR MIND, if you wish." Hide tried from the doorway, arms crossed over her newly flat belly.

Kinzoku Niko shook her head vehemently, packing up her pyjama bottoms and shoving them deep inside of the suitcase. The young eighteen-year-old had been packing for most of the afternoon and night and her bedroom was a mess of open suitcases and bags strewn all over the carpeted floor. There were only a couple of hours left before the Severing Ceremony and Niko still needed to get her things in order. It was a quiet night, the snowstorm raging outside barely noticeable in the comfort of her plush bedroom.

There was something particularly disheartening about watching her own daughter pack, especially when Hide knew she wouldn't be coming back. The woman paused, her expression hollow as her eyes wandered across the room. Niko was young, the walls of her room mirroring what was inside of her soul. It was the typical teenage daydream, with posters of boybands lining the walls and pink cushions on the bed. There was a lot of pink, part of it camouflaged under all of the gold.

This room was like a small slice of heaven, a safe space her daughter had carved out for herself. She was never supposed to leave; at least not when she was still clearly a child. Alas, The Magistrate was very clear about this kind of business, as was Jujutsu Law. Niko had made her choice long ago, the dinner last week only cementing it. This wasn't her world, not when she longed for something else. Someone else.

Hide hadn't laid eyes on the boy again. The dinner had gone horribly and the fight that ensued between Asahi and Niko had been brutal enough to cause her an early labour. Hide sighed, swallowing back the sorrow as she rubbed her flat belly. That night, she hadn't lost one child, but three. Twins ran in the family, after all. Unfortunately for Hide, she was used to the feeling by now.

First with her firstborn boy, Katsuro, who tumbled down a ravine at the age of eight-years old and cracked his skull open. Then with her next pregnancy, which ended before it even started. Then, for a brief moment, she was happy and blessed with a new set of twins, but even now, she could see a dark cloud unfolding over them, like her darling Keisuke and beautiful Mikazuki were doomed from the start. It didn't seem fair – then again, these matters rarely were.

And then there was this, which somehow hurt a lot more. Niko was choosing this.

"I don't really see the point." Niko cut in harshly, a sigh escaping from her lips as she turned to stare at her mother. "You know this as well as I do, I don't belong here."

Hide licked her lips, a deep sadness inundating her expression for a brief second. Niko said it so easily, like she truly believed it. Hide, however, knew better. Despite not being chosen as the next heir following her twin's death, Niko had thrived. She'd become the youngest first-grade sorceress in history, her techniques putting her far ahead from her peers. Her handle on Everlasting was flawless, her Cursed Energy almost endless. Had she wished so, Niko could have been the strongest sorceress alive. There was potential in that girl, yet she was ready to throw it all away for one man.

Of course, that wasn't the only reason why she was leaving. That would have been to easy. No, the real reason was something Hide could not fault her daughter for. She'd seen it in Niko's eyes that night, the way the gold in them flared up when she challenged Asahi. It was a spark, a well of raw untapped potential. Then the light vanished from her eyes, and Hide was finally able to understand.

Niko was leaving in the name of love. Not of a mortal stranger, but of herself. That night, while her father called her foolish and naïve, Niko had caught a glimpse of something in the mirror, and it terrified her to her core. Potential was like a double edge sword, and where there is potential for power, there is also potential for tyranny.

Niko had seen it that night, that look in her eyes, the one that warned her just how easily it was to go down that road. The young Kinzoku didn't want to become Asahi, to become Hide. She didn't want to become rotten to the core.

"Things will be different after you leave." Hide warned, her tone calm and soothing, something Niko hadn't heard in the longest time. "Once you've been Severed you won't be able to come back here. Your Sight will be taken away from you. So will your Cursed Energy." She swallowed past the lump in her throat. "You'll be left completely and utterly alone."

Niko shook her head.

"I won't be alone. I'll be with James." She nodded her head towards her night table, a set of documents strewn across the wooden surface: a passport, an ID and a vaccination card. All of them forged, the Kinzoku name erased. "My plane leaves early in the morning. He'll be waiting for me at JFK."

The move hadn't been easy. As a Japanese national, entering the States was no easy task. Asahi had been able to pull a couple of strings here and there, ensuring Niko was awarded an American nationality with her new fake documents. It wasn't much, but coming from the man who would murder an entire village to get his way, it was good enough.

James and his family would be waiting for her, and although sorrow lodged itself in her throat, Niko couldn't help but fill with excitement at the thought. The girl looked down at her hand, glancing at the intricate engagement ring. James had proposed before leaving, hoping she would follow. Maybe she should feel guilty about leaving her siblings here, especially when she knew the darkness that lived inside of her parents, but it was time to chase her own happiness, which was as far away from this family as possible.

"Must you really leave?" A small voice echoed from the doorway.

Niko's head snapped down, catching a young Mikazuki standing by the door. The girl should have been in bed over an hour ago, yet she was standing there, dressed in her pyjamas while her hair had been pulled up into two pigtails. The eight-year-old looked up, her pretty golden eyes falling on her sister. Niko's heart lurched at the sight. If she felt guilty before, it was nothing compared to the emotions currently running through her body. She was wracked with guilt, the sensation slowly eating away at her soul. Hide sighed, burying her face in her hands while Niko crouched down in front of her sister, a soft smile on her lips.

"It's complicated, sweet pea." She tried to explain, her voice shaky as she pulled a strand of hair back behind Mikazuki's ear. "There are rules here, and I can't stay and be with James at the same time."

Mikazuki's lip wobbled, a grimace appearing in her features. Still, the girl didn't cry, turning to stare at her mother with big wide eyes.

"Why not? Why can't we change the rules, mommy?"

"It's–"

Hide began, but before she could continue, Mikazuki cut her off.

"Complicated. I know."

Niko shook her head, holding Mikazuki's slender hand and tugging, forcing her to turn until the two were face to face. The girl was so young, so innocent. Niko could see it in her eyes, the confusion and the despair. It wasn't fair of her to leave, but it wouldn't be fair to stay, either.

"Look, I love James." Niko began, a small smile on her lips as she held Mikazuki's arm, her touch reassuring like a motherly caress. "I pray one day you love someone as much as I love him. Then you'll understand." She squeezed her sister's arms, a single tear running down her cheeks. "Sometimes, we have to sacrifice ourselves for the people we love, and that's okay. As long as you love them, there's nothing to fear." Niko took a deep breath, fighting the urge to cry. "I might be leaving, but I'll always be your big sister. And, if you ever need anything from me, just call." She handed her a small piece of paper, a phone number scribbled on it. "I can't promise I'll answer, but I'll always be there for you, no matter what."